Sunday, March 29, 2009

I've had some of the most delicious dishes at the Madura coats club where they could make everything from complicated souffles to a simple curd rice and everything tasted awesome. They organized several parties where the menu would always be elaborate and absolutely droolworthy and even the snacks served every Friday evening while the open-air theatre airs movies were delectable and something I'd look forward to more than the movie. We often ordered food from there for parties we had at home and I would ensure that Gobi Manchurian definitely made the list along with these Spring Rolls.

I don't think I've tasted spring rolls like the ones I've had at the club anywhere else.. they were quite unlike the ones we find here with the extra crispy wrapper. Their version was still deep fried and was crispy outside, yet had a chewiness on the inside and the veggies had a lovely pepper flavour. Last week I wanted nothing but this version and the store bought spring roll wrappers and chinese takeouts could definitely not satisfy me so I set about making these. I won't claim that my version can stand up to what was churned out at the club but it was close enough (maybe i think so because it's been many many years since i've tasted them). Nevertheless we enjoyed these as a snack cum dinner one Saturday evening.

Sealing Paste:Maida/Flour - 2 tsp + little water to form a thick paste

Method:1) For the outer cover, blend the flour, egg, salt & water to make a thin, smooth batter. Heat a small round pan (8 inch diameter is what I used), rub a few drops of oil and pour some of this batter and spread out to form a very thin pancake. Cook on medium on one side, flip over and cook the other side as well. It will still be pale in colour. Keep aside. Do this for the rest of the batter.

2) For the filling, heat the 2 tsp of oil and add the whites of spring onions, ginger and garlic, after abt 20-30 seconds, add in the veggies and a pinch of salt and stir-fry till crisp-tender. Stir in the soy & chilli sauces with pepper to taste & spring onion tops (greens) and when done. Keep aside and allow to cool a bit.

3) To make the rolls, put some filling in the pancake and roll it up tightly. Seal with the paste of flour+water and place them seam side down (so it doesn't open up). Complete filling all the rolls while the Oil to shallow fry them heats up.

4) Once the oil is hot enough, put the rolls seam side down and allow to cook till it crisps up outside, flip over and let the other side cook as well. Remove and allow to drain on paper towels before slicing them diagonally into smaller pieces. Serve as is or with some ketchup.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Paruppu Podi is such a handy thing to have on hand and is just absolutely lip-smacking whe mixed in with rice & ghee. This is particularly handy for bachelors / college kids in dorms because this when coupled with a simple subzi/dry curry, yogurt, papad & pickle can turn into a sumptuous, satisfying meal. I remember eating quite a lot of this and the vathal kuzhambu paste (777 brand) mixed with rice when studying and had absolutely no cooking skills.

I used to buy the pre-packaged ones you get at stores but after seeing how easy this is to make at home, i don't buy this anymore. All you need is a few minutes and a mixie that can powder stuff.

2) Allow this to cool completely and transfer to a jar (I use the medium jar of my preethi mixie for grinding powders). Add salt & the copra (dessicated coconut) & powder till fine. Serve with rice & ghee. This keeps well when stored in an airtight container for use later.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

This is something I remember from my school days... as young kids, we used to take along a small box with snacks/light sandwiches and such to be had during our 'morning break'. I'm sure we can all remember how snacks were always favored as opposed to the actual meals at that age so this was always something I looked forward to. There would be a fair amount of sharing, swapping & tasting amongst us friends and this date & biscuit sweet/bar is one that my friend, N used to bring and something that I really enjoyed & looked forward to - it wasn't just me, i remember it being quite popular in general. At that age, you eat, enjoy, maybe mention to your mom describing it in the best way possible hoping she may be able to conjure up some way of making it at home based on that description... Those were days when it was not common to just make a call and find out from the friend's mom or do a search on the internet so soon it was forgotten.

As a grown-up, you crave for some of those things you enjoyed as a kid, remember them and wonder how they were made - i have quite a few items on this list & this was on it. Since my daughter doesn't take to dates or marie biscuits by themselves, i remembered this sweet that N brought and decided to make it, thinking this might do the trick. I've tried a few methods to replicate it and this one works the best and fortunately for me, it clicked with my 3yr old as well... :)

Ingredients:Marie Biscuits - 6 to 8, break into small pieces (not too big or totally crushed either). This, when measured, came to about half a cup (heaped).Dates - 1 cup, chopped into small pieces.Ghee - 1 tsp plus a little for greasingCling wrap/thin plastic sheet to mould and for letting it set - optional, but recommended.

Method:1) Spread a cling wrap sheet on a plate and spread a few drops of ghee on it to grease lightly.

2) Heat the 1tsp of ghee in a pan on medium flame and add the chopped dates. Stir this and what I did was to smush them a bit while i was stirring so they would kind of soften and come together a bit instead of staying just as separate pieces. After about 3 to 5 minutes, the dates will have softened and become stickier.

3) Switch off the stove and stir in the marie biscuit pieces gently yet as thoroughly as possible so they are spread out uniformly.

4) Transfer this mixture onto the clingwrap sheet and fold it over the mixture and press them together a bit from the sides so they come together and then flatten them out to the desired shape - i made a small rectangle with about half to 3/4 inch thickness.

5) Allow this to cool a bit and put it in the refrigerator for an hour or two to set. This will help harden the bars. Now, using a long, serrated knife, cut them into small pieces and there you have it!

Note: My friend always brought this combination with Marie biscuits so I've only made them with it so far - not sure if other biscuits would work. The proportions needn't be exact and you can play with them depending on your preference for taste & texture. I personally think that nuts like almonds or cashews would work as a substitute for the marie biscuits or even as an addition to this, but again, not something i've tried because my daughter has a nut allergy.

Also, i don't think they need to be refrigerated but I would recommend it so they have the firm texture but it would be just fine to take them along on drives, a picnic or as a treat for lunch as well without worrying about them not keeping well.

Friday, March 20, 2009

This is a creamy, comforting dhal and the restaurant versions are usually loaded with butter & cream. The advantage with making this at home is that we can cut back a bit on the decadence and still not lose much of the taste. Since slow simmering is always stressed for this recipe, I used the slow cooker this time and it worked out great. So, i could let it simmer away during most of the late morning and we had a grand meal.

I don't have a fancy slow cooker, just a basic one with not even a setting or timer to go with it... and though I bought it with soups & stews in mind, i've mostly used it to cook dhals. I usually wash and pop the dried beans (channa, rajma etc.) along with water in the slow cooker and turn it on. So, typically in the time it takes to soak the dhal or even lesser, the dhal is cooked perfectly and when it's almost done, i even stir in some salt so it absorbs that as well. For this recipe, after frying the onions, tomatoes & masalas with the dhal, i transferred them back to the slow cooker and allowed them to simmer away and finished them off with the cream topping just before serving.

Method:1) If using a slow cooker, wash the dhals, drain and place in a slow cooker with sufficient water and allow to cook for about 6 hours or so till soft & done. Otherwise, soak the dhals in plenty of water overnight and pressure cook till soft.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

My husband is a big fan of these thick dosas or uthappams and i used to primarily make them with just onions... and sometimes as a variation in the kadai - Kal Dosai. I remember having one at Murugan Idli shop in madurai which was made with shallots and it was just so yummy. When I tried making this with several veggies, I found that they didn't get embedded well enough in the batter & turned kind of messy when I flipped them over but a good friend, Latha, showed me her tricks to do this well and we had some tasty, colorful oothapams at her place and i've been following that method since.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Typically the rasam that I grew up with and was very fond of - my paati's rasam, was one that had everything... garlic, pepper, tomatoes, toor dhal etc. so only later in life did I come to realize that there were rasams that celebrated each ingredient with a special emphasis e.g. Tomato rasam, poondu (garlic) rasam, milagu (pepper) rasam etc.

When I first tasted this thakkali rasam made by Vijaya akka several years ago, i was so enamoured by it that I had to get the recipe from her. The only variation is that she strains the tomato juice after grinding it but I typically skip that step - but that's a personal preference. This rasam doesn't have any dhal or tamarind water and is delightfully delicious.

Method:1) Cook tomatoes in about a cup of boiling water for about 5 to 6 minutes. Allow to cool, peel and grind in a mixie to a juice. You could strain this if you prefer - i don't. Mix the juice and the boiled water along with turmeric and salt and keep aside.

2) Heat oil + ghee in a pan and season with mustard, jeera, asafoetida (hing), curry leaves, and a broked dried red chilli. When the mustard splutters, add the ground paste and fry for a few minutes.

3) Add the tomato juice and allow to cook on a medium flame until it begins to form a layer of froth on the top and just begins to boil. Don't let this boil for anything more than a minute.

4) Switch off the stove, sprinkle the coriander leaves and cover the pot for atleast 5 minutes or so for the flavours to mingle. Delicious rasam is now ready to drink as is or with rice.